Wild Animal Juggling.. Sort of
I've been watching my brother's dog this week while they are vacationing in the Keys. She's a sweet Brittany Spaniel, but she has a lot of energy and is a little OCD and kind of has separation anxiety. (although if you ask me it looks a lot more like separation temper tantrum). I almost broke my neck tumbling down a flight of steps after tripping on her kong. CONSUMER ALERT: if you have a dark carpet, don't buy black dog toys, they blend into the shadows!
I was watching the dog at my brother's house until after dance rehearsal on Tuesday, and then I brought her down to Mom's house at the shore so I could help Mom put away the Christmas decorations. Now that she is not at home, the dog is even more fidgety, anxious and whiny.
We were worried about what my Mom's feral cat would do, but so far we have managed to avoid them meeting. The cat wants to spend all day outside unless it's bitter cold. Mom has been feeding the cat first thing in the morning and then the cat gos out, then the dog is let out of her crate in the spare bedroom and she spends most of the day scampering up and down the steps to make sure the upstairs is still there. (I said the was OCD) Then at dinner time, the dog and I go in the spare bedroom and check my e-mail while the cat comes in to eat dinner. (so far, she avoids me as much as possible) Then the cat goes back outside until bedtime. The dog and I check my e-mail again in the spare room and the cat goes to bed with Mom. Then I leave the dog in her crate overnight (she chews up random non-food items if she's not supervised) and open Mom's bedroom door so the cat can access the litter box if she needs it. So far it's working much better than I expected. If the dog and cat see each other outside, they just look at each other from a respectful distance, but the cat won't come in the house if she can see me or the dog.
I was watching the dog at my brother's house until after dance rehearsal on Tuesday, and then I brought her down to Mom's house at the shore so I could help Mom put away the Christmas decorations. Now that she is not at home, the dog is even more fidgety, anxious and whiny.
We were worried about what my Mom's feral cat would do, but so far we have managed to avoid them meeting. The cat wants to spend all day outside unless it's bitter cold. Mom has been feeding the cat first thing in the morning and then the cat gos out, then the dog is let out of her crate in the spare bedroom and she spends most of the day scampering up and down the steps to make sure the upstairs is still there. (I said the was OCD) Then at dinner time, the dog and I go in the spare bedroom and check my e-mail while the cat comes in to eat dinner. (so far, she avoids me as much as possible) Then the cat goes back outside until bedtime. The dog and I check my e-mail again in the spare room and the cat goes to bed with Mom. Then I leave the dog in her crate overnight (she chews up random non-food items if she's not supervised) and open Mom's bedroom door so the cat can access the litter box if she needs it. So far it's working much better than I expected. If the dog and cat see each other outside, they just look at each other from a respectful distance, but the cat won't come in the house if she can see me or the dog.